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Nov. 2, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Caroline Radnofsky and Griffin EcksteinTwo years ago, Derek and DeAnna Huffman were desperate to leave Humble, a suburb of Houston. Their three daughters, they believed, were being brainwashed by public school and mainstream media to support LGBTQ rights. American culture in general no longer offered white people the same opportunities as other races, they said.The couple yearned to live in a place that shared their “Christian values” and where they “weren’t going to be discriminated against” as white, politically-conservative Christians.So in March, the Huffmans became the first family to move to a community planned for fellow English-speakers some 30 miles west of Moscow, a project they had been following online run by long-term American expat and former Kremlin-sponsored RT host Tim Kirby. The family is among a small but growing number of Americans who have moved to Russia because the United States, in their opinion, has become too “woke.”The Russian government has welcomed these culture war refugees. In 2024, President Vladimir Putin issued an executive order offering temporary residence to people wanting to move to the country because they rejected “destructive neoliberal ideological attitudes” of their home countries.Around 1,500 of these “ideological immigrants,” as they’ve been dubbed by the Russian media, including 127 Americans, have applied for temporary residence in Russia, according to the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs.”President Putin is an amazing leader and he’s done great things for Russia,” Derek Huffman, 45, said in a video on his family’s YouTube channel on March 9. “It’s nothing like you see on the news.” The social media platform X “is the only place where you get real information” about America’s own problems, Derek says. The family initially found a community of Russians and westerners on social media who encouraged their move, with donations from some of their 15,000 YouTube subscribers providing financial support after their arrival in Russia. But when Derek Huffman voluntarily joined the Russian army in May, the family became a lightning rod for broader online scrutiny.Derek Huffman said he joined the Russian army to expedite the family’s applications for Russian citizenship, as well as to show support for their new homeland.“Above and beyond the citizenship, the money, a big part of it for me is about the respect and earning our place here in Russia,” he said on the Huffmans’ YouTube channel on May 26.But in a follow-up video posted in June, which was subsequently deleted, DeAnna Huffman, 42, told viewers that her husband had been “thrown to the wolves.” NBC News viewed a re-upload of the video.The couple had hoped Derek Huffman would put previous welding experience to use in the repair battalion and “actually be utilized for his skills,” she said in the video. Instead, she said, he was sent to the front line and struggled to understand his training, which was in Russian.Pro-Ukrainian commentators, keen to publicize hardship for pro-Russian figures, said on social media that Derek Huffman had been killed. A post on X claiming to have access to drone footage of his death has more than 2 million views. NBC News did not find video to substantiate the claim, and DeAnna Huffman denied the reports.Derek reappeared in several videos on the family’s YouTube channel uploaded on October 25, celebrating his daughter’s birthday and signing forms to receive his Russian passport.In one filmed in the family’s neighborhood, he said he was back “on vacation” after being deployed for six months, and praised his wife for keeping the family going while he was gone.“I’m happy that I’m still alive and doing what I can to survive, and be of service to Russia. I’m so thankful to all the Russian people who have reached out and helped my family while I’ve been gone,” he said.Another family, the Hares, also moved from Abilene, Texas, to Russia to shield their three sons from what they say are harmful elements of American culture.“It was the promise of a country that would not promote the LGBT agenda. We liked the fact that LGBT is basically outlawed here in official ways,” Leo Hare, 62, told NBC News via a video call from the family’s new home in Ivanovo, Russia.Russia has strict laws against the “promotion of nontraditional sexual relationships,” which have in practice banned public displays of LGBTQ identity, including wearing or posting the rainbow flag on social media.The Hares sightseeing after arriving in Moscow in December 2023.”We’re living really comfortably now … We have great friends,” Chantelle Hare said. SuppliedHis wife Chantelle Hare, 53, says in a video on the family’s own YouTube channel that when they lived the U.S., she and her husband preferred to get their news from Alex Jones and Mike Adams, who are far-right commentators and conspiracy theorists. They felt particularly disillusioned with American politics after the 2020 election, and don’t believe Donald Trump’s return to power will change the country enough to convince them to return.“When we left, it was final. We don’t plan to come back. There will not be anything to come back to,” Chantelle Hare said.The Hares have endured their share of hardship trying to build a new life in Russia.They say their initial plan to rent an apartment in Moscow fell through just as they boarded the plane from Texas, and the family spent a bitterly cold winter caring for chickens, horses and rabbits on a farm 70 miles south of Moscow in exchange for free board. At one point, they even had to bring the goats and their newborns inside their cabin to keep the animals from dying.Leo Hare thought their troubles were over when their landlord’s son offered a generous interest rate for investing their $50,000 nest egg in what he described as a car import business. But they only saw one payment before he stopped sending them money and refused to return their money, Leo Hare said.The couple went to the police and the local court to file complaints about their lost money and with their concerns that they had been swindled, but say they have received no help from law enforcement officials. NBC News contacted Domodedovo police for comment but did not receive a reply.The Hares’ sons, 17, 15, and 12, have had difficulty adapting to life in Russia, and the two older boys want to return to America, according to their father. They feel isolated and are disappointed that school is not an option since Russia requires students to pass a language test to study in public schools.Leo and Chantelle, who ran a carpet cleaning business and a mobile snack business back in the U.S., are now working as English tutors. They have found an apartment in Ivanovo, northeast of Moscow, and “are living really comfortably now.” They are currently homeschooling their children. Leo Hare said it probably “would have been a dealbreaker” if they knew about the school restrictions.The Hares have not met the Huffmans. Leo Hare says he never considered joining the army because of his age and safety concerns, and says that Derek Huffman “assumed a little too much” about life in the Russian military.”We assumed a lot, too,” he admitted. “But we do have a faith in Christ and He is leading us, even though we’ve made mistakes.” Caroline RadnofskyCaroline Radnofsky is a supervising reporter for NBC News’ Social Newsgathering team based in London.Griffin EcksteinGriffin Eckstein is an New-York based intern for NBC News’ Social Newsgathering team.

- Latest News - November 2, 2025

Two years ago, Derek and DeAnna Huffman were desperate to leave Humble, a suburb of Houston.

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Nov. 2, 2025, 7:39 AM ESTBy Michael Kosnar and Rich SchapiroLast month, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the Secret Service discovered a “suspicious” hunting stand near Palm Beach International Airport with a direct sight line to where President Donald Trump exits Air Force One. “The FBI has since taken the investigatory lead,” Patel said in a statement, “flying in resources to collect all evidence from the scene and deploying our cell phone analytics capabilities.”Now, two weeks later, a Florida reptile hunter who calls himself the Python Cowboy says he’s convinced the FBI is barking up the wrong tree. Mike Kimmel, owner of Martin County Trapping and Wildlife Rescue, told NBC News that the elevated stand has been there for years and the only mystery is whether it was set up by a hunter, birder or wildlife photographer.“When we had first seen it, Joe Biden was president,” Kimmel said. “And it looked old and dilapidated at the time. It never gave like a suspicious vibe.”A professional trapper for over a decade, Kimmel operates across southern Florida, removing invasive species like Burmese pythons, green iguanas and feral hogs. He also guides hunting trips, with the help of his specially trained dogs — Trouble, Rooster and Rowdy, among others. The waterways surrounding the Palm Beach airport are well known to Kimmel. They are prime spots for hunting iguanas. Mike Kimmel displaying a massive iguana caught at a local golf course in 2023, with the help of his dog named Rogue.Courtesy Mike KimmelKimmel said he first noticed the tree stand identified by Patel a couple of years ago. “It never crossed our minds that it would be used by someone taking a shot at the president or anything like that,” Kimmel said. In July 2024, a would-be assassin managed to fire several rounds at Trump during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, striking him in the ear. Two months later, the Secret Service arrested a man who was spotted hiding in the bushes, with a rifle, at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. A Florida jury in late September found him guilty of trying to assassinate Trump.Kimmel said the Secret Service reached out to him after the first assassination attempt and told him to refrain from going on hunts in the area for the next week or so. “We respected that,” he said. “We’re out there with air guns and everything. It can look suspicious.”If you spend as much time in that area as he does, Kimmel said, there’s plenty of other things that you could see. “There’s homeless camps out there,” he said. “There’s all kinds of trash. I found a dead body out there. The tree stand is a very small blip.”“I think the FBI is wasting their time,” he added.One of Kimmel’s hunting guides, Joseph “JR” Entry, also recalled first seeing the stand a couple of years ago and thinking little of it. He said he and the other guides find the FBI’s sudden attention amusing and a bit perplexing.“I think it’s a big stink about nothing, to be honest with you,” Entry told NBC News. The U.S. Secret Service uncovered a suspicious hunting stand at the Palm Beach International Airport with a direct line of sight to where President Donald Trump exits Air Force One.U.S. Secret ServiceAn FBI spokesperson said the agency continues to analyze the hunting stand materials for forensic clues at its laboratory in Quantico, Virginia. So far, the investigation has not identified any individuals connected to the mystery tree perch, the spokesperson added.Kimmel’s exploits catching — and sometimes getting bitten by — giant pythons are the stuff of legend in Florida. The video clips he posts on YouTube and Instagram — showing him belly-flopping onto pythons in alligator-infested swamps and bagging serpents like a pregnant 16-footer with 60 eggs in its belly the size of grapefruits — often draw thousands of views and media attention. In 2024, he took a blind dog on a hunt with him, and the pooch nicknamed “Helen Killer” helped him snag a 9-foot-python that also couldn’t see. The feat was chronicled in the Miami Herald, which described him as “one of Florida’s best-known wildlife trackers.”Four years earlier, Kimmel appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast and brought with him the head of a monster snake that nearly got the best of him.“I almost bled out in the middle of the Everglades,” Kimmel told Rogan. “This snake — 17 foot 7 inches, 135 pounds. At the time, that’s about what I weighed, so it was a fair Everglades battle royale.”Kimmel said he understands why the Secret Service would find the tree stand suspicious, given its proximity to an airport Trump frequents and the fact that he has been targeted before.But he thinks there’s little chance even the most advanced technical analysis would yield much of anything. “It’s been just sitting out in the elements – with the sun straight on, it rains – everything like that,” Kimmel said. “I would imagine any kind of DNA or fingerprints would be quickly eliminated off of it, but that’s not my area of expertise.”From his perspective, the authorities should have already moved on.“I would expect them to investigate something like that for sure,” Kimmel said, “but I’d also kind of expect them to figure out very quickly that it’s essentially nothing.”“All you got to do,” he added, “is talk to us.”Michael KosnarMichael Kosnar is the Justice Department Producer for NBC News. Rich Schapiro Rich Schapiro is a reporter with the NBC News national security unit.

- Latest News - November 2, 2025

Last month, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the Secret Service discovered a “suspicious” hunting stand near Palm Beach International Airport with a direct sight line to where President Donald.

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Savewith a NBCUniversal ProfileCreate your free profile or log in to save this articleNov. 2, 2025, 6:02 AM ESTBy Freddie ClaytonLONDON — Two British nationals have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after ten people were injured in a stabbing attack on a train that connects London to the North of England on Saturday night, according to police.Of the nine people thought to have life-threatening injuries, four have been discharged, and two “remain in a life-threatening condition,” Superintendent John Loveless said in an update on Sunday morning.“At this stage there is nothing to suggest that this is a terrorist incident,” he added, noting that both suspects, men aged 32 and 35, were born in the United Kingdom and remain in separate police stations for questioning.The identities of the suspects have not yet been released.Police and medics rushed to a train station in Huntingdon, northwest of Cambridge, after reports of a stabbing on a London-bound train at 7:42 p.m. GMT (3:42 p.m. ET). The train made an unscheduled stop as emergency services responded, according to British Transport Police and social media footage from the scene.Cambridgeshire Police, which patrols the area, arrested two people at the scene in connection with the incident, authorities said. “Within eight minutes of a 999 call being made, two men were in police custody,” Loveless added.An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said it scrambled numerous ambulances, tactical commanders, a hazardous response team, and two helicopters to transport “multiple patients” to Addenbrooke’s Hospital.A large police presence remained at Huntingdon on Sunday morning, with many roads closed around the station. Forensic tents were up with officers in white overalls spotted in the car park, while the train where the stabbings took place was still parked on the platform.British Defence Secretary John Healey told Sky News earlier on Sunday that the nation’s threat level is unchanged, adding that it remains “substantial,” which means a future terror attack is considered “likely.”U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack as “appalling” and “deeply concerning,” expressing sympathy for those affected and gratitude to the emergency workers who responded so quickly.He has previously called knife crime a “national crisis.” The number of offences involving a knife across England and Wales has risen overall since 2011, according to government statistics, though it is 4.5% lower over the past year than in 2019/20.Data from the National Health Service in England shows there were 3,500 cases recorded in hospitals in 2024/25 due to assault by a sharp object, a 10.4% decrease compared to the previous year.King Charles and Queen Camilla said they were “shocked” following the attack, and paid tribute to the emergency response.“Our deepest sympathy and thoughts are with all those affected, and their loved ones,” the King wrote in a statement Sunday. The violence on Saturday prompted widespread disruption across the rail network. London North Eastern Railway (LNER) issued a “Do Not Travel” alert for the affected line on Saturday, and while some lines reopened Sunday, the company warned that further cancellations and delays were likely.In an update early Sunday, LNER Managing Director David Horne said staff were “shocked and saddened” by the attack and praised emergency services for their swift response. British Transport Police said the train was the 6:25 p.m. GMT (2:25 p.m. ET) service from Doncaster in the North of England to London King’s Cross. Huntingdon is about 77 miles north of London.Freddie ClaytonFreddie Clayton is a freelance journalist based in London. Dennis Romero and Jamie Gray contributed.

- Latest News - November 2, 2025

LONDON — Two British nationals have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after ten people were injured in a stabbing attack on a train that connects London to the.

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Nov. 1, 2025, 9:00 AM EDT / Updated Nov. 1, 2025, 8:40 PM EDTBy Amelia Acosta and Micki FahnerMore than 50,000 people are expected to line up Sunday in New York City for the world’s largest marathon. The vast majority aren’t professional runners, instead balancing training with their day jobs — and it turns out, some of those day jobs are pretty high-profile. Reality television personalities, actors, influencers and Broadway stars will line up for Sunday’s race through New York City, part of a growing movement of famous faces taking on 26.2 miles.When reality star Joey Graziadei sets out on Sunday, it won’t just be his first marathon, but his first-ever official race.“I’ll be completely honest, I am nervous,” Graziadei said. In addition to leading a season of ABC’s storied “Bachelor” franchise, Graziadei won Season 33 of “Dancing with the Stars.” While it presented a different kind of physical challenge, he says the show helped pave the way for his marathon training. Joey Graziadei on Sept. 5, in West Hollywood, Calif.JC Olivera / Variety / Getty Images“The biggest thing is the time commitment, just knowing that if you put enough energy and effort into something, you’re going to see the results,” he said. “I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t the best dancer. I got good because of the fact that I put a lot of time and energy and committed fully to it.” He says he hopes the time he’s spent running will similarly pay off. Graziadei is among a growing group of celebrities for whom the marathon medal is something worth clearing time for in a jam-packed schedule that would normally have nothing to do with running. Phil Keoghan, the longtime host of the adventure series “The Amazing Race,” put off a marathon run for years because of his hectic filming schedule. He says a former contestant finally convinced him to take it on this year.“Sometimes I think people live life too safely,” Keoghan said. “They don’t push themselves, test themselves to extremes, and certainly, running a marathon is a great way for anybody to test themselves.”The challenge of the marathon has always attracted celebrities, and interest in running has never been higher. New York Road Runner’s lottery for this year’s TCS New York City Marathon received more than 200,000 applications, a 22% increase compared to 2024, according to the organization. This year, celebrities entered in the New York City Marathon run the gamut from “Love Island’s” Nic Vansteenberghe to Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service frontman Ben Gibbard, and “Dance Mom” star Chloe Lukasiak. They follow in the footsteps of arguably the most notable recent celebrity to take on 26.2 miles: singer-songwriter Harry Styles. Instead of dropping his long-awaited follow-up to 2022’s “Harry’s House” this fall, Styles dropped a sub-three hour time at the 2025 Berlin Marathon in September, reportedly running under the pseudonym Sted Sarandos and clocking a 2:59:13 finish. The elusive sub-three hour finish is something Broadway star Jordan Litz is hoping to accomplish in New York on Sunday. But his day won’t end once he crosses the finish line. After he gets his medal and rehydrates, the actor plans to jump on his bicycle and head about 20 blocks south to the stage door of the Gershwin Theater. That’s so he can be there in time for the 2 p.m. performance of “Wicked,” where he stars as Fiyero. Then, he’ll do the whole show over again at 7 p.m. Jordan Litz in 2023. Bruce Glikas / Getty Images file“I wanted to do it while I was still at ‘Wicked’ and still part of the Broadway community, and in the heart of New York City,” Litz said of his stacked Sunday schedule. “Because for the most part, I show up at the Gershwin, I do my job and I take off, but over the course of this year, doing all of these extra races in preparation and running all over the city, I’ve run over every inch of this borough, of these five boroughs.” In Litz’s case, doing his job involves eight performances a week of one of the most physically demanding shows on Broadway. Now add to that an extensive training block for New York, notoriously one of the most grueling marathons for professional and amateur runners alike. So what made the siren song of the marathon too much to resist?”Well, first off, I’m crazy,” Litz said. “I’ve always been that kind of person, even when you asked my college teammates when I was a swimmer, I just loved to grind, and I loved to beat up my body and push it to the limits. So a marathon seemed like the logical next step for that kind of thing.”There’s been some ways in which the physical demands of Litz’s day job have eased his training block needs — after starting with five run days and two lift days a week, he cut back on the running based on some creative mathematics: eight shows a week added up to roughly a six or seven mile run, meaning he could scale back one of his shorter runs and free up a few valuable hours.Litz did joke that marathon training “has been detrimental” to his onstage capacity. “It has not helped. Most days I come in and my legs are jelly,” he said with a laugh. “But I’ve done the show in every condition possible, with my knee hurting, my ankle hurting, my voice hurting… It has made the show not scary, in that, oh my gosh, I just ran 22 miles. All I have to do now is play Fiyero on Broadway. That seems so easy compared to what I just did. So from a mental standpoint, I feel like I can conquer the world because of all this training.”And it’s not just performers. People busy in other worlds — including high-profile athletes — are getting pulled in by the allure of a marathon medal. Ali Truwit won two Paralympic swimming medals in Paris last summer. The competitive collegiate swimmer enjoyed running before she lost part of her left leg after a shark attack. She says her journey back to marathon running has been transformative. “I am really proud,” Truwit said. “Every kind of long training run has been a new achievement for me that I never thought I could do on a prosthetic blade.”Tayshia Adams, another member of Bachelor Nation, will have experience on her side when she lines up for her third New York City Marathon on Sunday. In the lead-up to her first two marathons, she fit in training runs in Kenya and Paris while traveling for work. This time she’d planned to commit her schedule to running and avoid any travel. However, in August, she started filming a new show that required her to move to Los Angeles for six weeks.Tayshia Adams, the former Bachelorette, is running her third New York Marathon.Courtesy of Maybelline“I just realized that there’s no perfect plan,” Adams said. “So I tried to fit in my training along with filming and traveling.”Scaling back miles and taking advantage of Santa Monica and Newport Beach as replacement running backdrops for Central Park has Adams not only ready for Sunday but planning a fourth marathon in 2026.“Every year I have my doubts,” Adams said. “Every year I feel like I can’t do it. Every year [I think] my schedule is way too busy… But if you show up for yourself and you just meet yourself out there and just keep trying, keep moving, the people will carry you through the entire thing.”Amelia AcostaAmelia Acosta is the Director of Editorial for NBC Sports.Micki FahnerMicki Fahner is a producer for Nightly News.

- Latest News - November 2, 2025

Reality television personalities, actors, influencers and Broadway stars will line up for Sunday’s New York City marathon, part of a growing movement of famous faces taking on 26.2 miles.

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Nov. 1, 2025, 7:21 PM EDT / Updated Nov. 1, 2025, 10:00 PM EDTBy Dennis Romero and Jamie GrayLONDON — Ten people were injured in a stabbing attack on a train that connects London to North East England on Saturday night, authorities said.Nine suffered life-threatening injuries while a 10th victim was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, British Transport Police said in a statement early Sunday.”There have been no fatalities,” the agency said.U.K.’s Counter Terrorism Policing, an agency that includes participation from the 43 police forces of England and Wales as well as contributions from police in Scotland and Northern Ireland, is assisting with the investigation led by transport police, it said.Transport police said it hopes to discover the “full circumstances and motivation” for the attack, which was “declared a major incident.”“At this early stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident,” Transport Police Chief Superintendent Chris Casey said in the statement.Police and medics rushed to a station in Huntingdon, where the train was stopped following a report of stabbings at 7:42 p.m. GMT (3:42 p.m. ET), according to transport police and social media video of the aftermath.Cambridgeshire Police, which patrols the area, arrested two people at the scene, authorities said. Any allegations against them were not given. Medical equipment is pictured inside a police cordon outside Huntingdon Station on Saturday following a stabbing on a train. Justin Tallis / AFP via Getty ImagesAn East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said it received reports of the attack a minute earlier and transported “multiple patients” to a medical facility. Its response included numerous ambulances, tactical commanders, a hazardous response team, and two helicopters used to transport patients, the spokesperson said.U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the violence “appalling” and “deeply concerning” and said, “My thoughts are with all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services for their response.”The London North Eastern Railway (LNER) issued a “Do Not Travel” alert for the line, saying train service has been disrupted and those with immediate plans to use it should “defer your travel where you can” and book new seat reservations. Buses were initially offered for travel between London and points north, including Huntingdon, 77 miles north of the capital, and Peterborough, 22 miles north of Huntingdon, the railway said. The line through Huntingdon would be out of service until at least 5 a.m. GMT on Sunday, LNER said.”We are aware of an incident involving one of our trains,” the line, one of England’s four major railways, said. “Our immediate concern is for the welfare of our customers and crew who are on board. We are in the process of gathering all the details we can and are liaising with British Transport Police.”That agency said the train was amid 6:25 p.m. GMT (2:25 p.m. ET) service from Doncaster, about 100 miles northwest of Huntingdon, to London King’s Cross when the attacks took place.The A1307, a country highway Cambridgeshire that leads to the center of Huntingdon, was also closed amid the investigation into the attack, Cambridgeshire Police said.Dennis Romero reported from San Diego and Jamie Gray from London.Dennis RomeroDennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.Jamie GrayJamie Gray is a senior desk editor for NBC News based in London. 

- Latest News - November 2, 2025

LONDON — Ten people were injured in a stabbing attack on a train that connects London to North East England on Saturday night, authorities said

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